Whitepapers

SMART LIGHTING SYSTEMS FOR VARIOUS APPLICATIONS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Increasing need for reducing energy consumption is driving the growth for smart lighting solutions. Smart lighting has the potential to reduce energy costs by 90 percent as per Gartner.

Smart lighting is an integrated system that involves segments such as light sources, luminaries, sensors & control units, connectivity and analytics. Implementation involves combining these elements that offer lighting solutions that can be monitored, controlled and automated using a centralized system.

Well known players in this industry are Phillips (the Netherlands), Osram (Germany), Lutron (USA), Legrand (France), Daintree Networks (the U.S.), Bridgelux (the U.S.), Echelon Corporation (the U.S.).

Fabricating a smart lighting system involves multiple phases. For example, the first level is the embedded level which consists of a lighting engine. It is an LED chip mounted on a circuit board that has electrical and mechanical fixings. The next level is the system level that involves connecting the luminaires and lighting systems. The third level performs the energy management function. The fourth level involves adding connectivity to the smart lighting system to provide automation and intelligent features.

There are several products available within the segments of smart lighting

The GE In-Wall Lighting Control switches are designed to connect to a smart home hub and activate with your mobile device.

There are many interesting trends evolving for smart lighting applications. Following are a few examples -

Government organizations in different countries have significant programs for street lighting using solid state technology, and HID (High Intensity Discharge) or LED (Light-emitting diode) lamps to create connected street lighting. They provide many benefits such as reduced consumption of energy, real-time monitoring, safety and, security, monitoring air quality and traffic & pedestrian monitoring, etc.

To increase illumination, technologies such as laser diodes using sulphur configuration and optical double reflection are being developed.

INTRODUCTION

Smart Lighting is an illumination management system. It consists of variety of sensors, controllers, video processing units and information & communication technologies. It is widely used for indoor, outdoor, and industrial applications.

Growing need for energy efficient and cost-effective solutions is driving the growth of smart lighting market
 Global smart lighting market is expected to grow at approx. USD 25 Billion by 2023, at 27% of CAGR between 2016 and 2023
 Europe, followed by North America is projected to hold the highest market share of the global smart lighting market by 2023.
While, Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at the fastest rate. The major growth in smart lighting market in Europe is attributed
to technical advancements and increasing investments in infrastructure projects

Smart Lighting market has technologies and manufacturers spread across following segments:

Light Sources: Light Emitting Diode (LED), Fluorescent Lamps (FL), High Intensity Discharge Lamps (HID). The LED segment is projected to hold over 60% of share of the smart lighting market as it has emerged as a cost-effective and energy-efficient alternative to incandescent lighting systems.

Luminaries: Smart Bulbs & Fixtures. This segment is undergoing rapid technological advancements. Currently wide range of innovative and cost-effective smart bulbs and fixtures are available that could also be procured by availing government subsidies.

Light Controls: Sensors, Switches & Dimmers, Relay Units, Gateways, LED drivers & Ballasts. Sensors like occupancy and motion sensors are expected to exhibit the fastest adoption as that enhances the ability of smart lighting systems to effectively react to the surrounding conditions.

Wireless Communication Technology: Rapid advancements in wireless communication technologies such as Internet Protocol Smart Object (IPSO), an organization for promoting the use of the Internet Protocol (IP) for Smart Object communications is a key enabler in smart lighting.

Analytics & Intelligence: Connecting the controls and the lighting via a network enables the lighting to be monitored and controlled through a centralized system.

Smart Lighting for outdoor lighting is projected to exhibit the fastest growth with a CAGR of over 25%. The rapid growth will be primarily by growing demand for
smart streetlight systems and investments in smart cities projects. For indoor purposes, ambience, task, accent and decorative lighting will be the growth
Fundamentally, Smart lighting is an integrated system. It is fabricated with four complementary levels offering intelligent features & controls

Embedded Level: The first integration level is in the lighting engine or light source itself. The light engine consists of a LED chip mounted on a circuit board that has electrical and mechanical fixings. Latest developments at the embedded level are in both technology and design. For illumination, Laser diodes using phosphor configuration being developed are 10K times brighter than LEDs. Currently as there are no manufacturing or fitting standards for the light sources, manufacturers are designing built-in light sources.

System Level: The second level is in luminaries and lighting systems. Innovation in this segment is application-driven. Luminaire manufacturers will have to design innovative products based on consumer needs such as human-centric lighting and connected lighting or IoT lighting.

Grid Level: The third level allows energy management by monitoring power sources, distribution utilities and appliances. Energy management systems should offer energy efficient and effective solutions. This will require designing smart light systems with several controlling features such as switching, detecting occupancy, optimization based on natural light, remote management, metering techniques and automatic scheduling.

Communication and Sensing Level: The fourth level involves smart communication and monitoring of lighting devices. Several smart accessories are already in use for remote management of smart lighting for indoor applications. For outdoor lighting, technologies using wireless sensor networks are being developed for applications such as street lighting, and traffic management.

SMART LIGHTING SYSTEMS FOR VARIOUS APPLICATIONS

Lighting Scenes:

Lighting control system are programmed to create variety of scenes or ambience. It
is done by controlling light fixtures, switches and lighting properties such as dimming,
color, temperature, and others.

The control systems is an integration of technologies such as - wireless
communication devices, smart LED lights, sensors that can detect occupancy without
using cameras.

The platform enabling lighting scenes is Digital Addressable Lighting Interface,
(DALI®) a protocol for digital communication between components of the lighting
installation such as luminaires, the sensors and the control units.

For example, with Philips Hue lights, an atmosphere for watching movies, going to
sleep, waking up, and more can be created.

Human Centric Lighting:

Human Centric Lighting is about creating lighting that mimics the natural daylight
that drives our bodily functions such as biological, emotional, health, or wellbeing
of people. The effects adjust daily rhythms and increased alertness.

SMART LIGHTING SYSTEMS FOR VARIOUS APPLICATIONS

Vertical Farming:

Vertical Farming is growing of crops or plants by using light or LEDs appropriate for photosynthesis.

Expected market growth in vertical farming is $5.11 billion by 2022.

LEDs with a larger red or blue component, have the light wavelengths plants need for
photosynthesis and for optimum growth. High intensity discharge (HID) reflectors—as well as
specially designed high-pressure sodium, metal halide, and ceramic metal halide lamps are also used for vertical farming.

Vertical farming became legal only recently, therefore a fewer lighting manufacturers are working in this area.

A few companies actively working in this area are - Lighting Science, Philips’s Horticultural LED Solutions, Osram, GE, Greenpower technology, Valoya, Future Farm Technologies, Illumitex, Heliospectra and Lumigrowre.

OSRAM recently acquired a Canadian startup “Motorleaf”, that offers technologies for yield forecasting in
greenhouses and indoor farms.

Street Lighting:

Street lighting is done by using LED, or solid-state lighting
technology. It helps to manage all connected street lights securely
and remotely. The networks connecting the lights, and the fixtures
housing the lights, can contain functionalities aimed at addressing
crime and improving quality-of-life.

Market is expected to reach USD 7.9 billion by 2021.

Implementation is a long pronged process involving government
entities, influencers, consultants, service providers, Luminaire &
Lighting Electronic manufacturers and others.

PLATFORM TECHNOLOGIES USED FOR SMART LIGHTING SYSTEMS

PROTOCOLS FOR LIGHTING CONTROL: There are commonly four types of standardized signals/protocols used for light control communication.

DALI Protocol: - Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI®) is a network-based system that controls lighting in building automation. The DALI standard uses optimized commands for communication between the lighting and other devices. It is a perfect standard for standalone lighting systems. Because of its simplicity, it proves successful for controlling large complex systems of smart lighting.

DLT Protocol: - Digital Load-Side Transmission Lighting Control (DLT), a lighting control protocol in transmission system. The DLT protocol is intended only for the control of lighting, therefore it is not needed to transfer high amounts of data.

DMX Protocol: - Digital Multiplex, a protocol for digital lighting control for stage lighting and effects. This is developed for theater and the entertainment industry. The advantage with DMX versus DALI is speed and number of addresses in one system.

DSI Protocol: - Digital Serial Interface, a digital lighting control protocol for controlling lighting in buildings. The advantages of using DSI are the simplicity of the system and not needing to program the system separately, only the lighting situations need to be saved to the memory. DSI enables the use of up to 100 controlled devices for each controller. The lighting is switched on and off with a digital control command, therefore the lighting fixtures are still live even when they are switched off.

PROTOCOLS FOR SMART COMMUNICATION

Internet Protocol for Smart Objects (IPSO) is an internet protocol for advanced lighting control. Useful in home automation, building automation and other M2M applications.

6LoWPAN, one of IoT communication protocols, is an acronym of IPv6 over low-power wireless personal area networks. It is used for automation and entertainment applications in home, office and factory environments.

Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) is a specialized web transfer protocol for use with constrained nodes and constrained networks in the Internet of Things (IoT).

TECHNOLOGIES OF SMART LIGHTING

LEDOTRON – It is a dimming and control technology for lighting. This is an innovative digital dimming and regulation technology developed in collaboration with OSRAM.

Optical Double Reflection (ODR)

Four times the brightness of conventional LEDs can be achieved with ODR lighting (Optical Double Reflection).

Uses a complete new optics technology.

Applied in camera with high-brightness illumination by increasing light efficiency and heat dissipation, making it possible to input images for the first time.

Motion activated lighting - These light systems trigger an LED light when movement is detected. Following are a few examples of sensors -

Gesture recognition and analysis is possible without using a camera and that eliminates privacy concerns. For example, Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) recently received a patent (US9363859B2) for a system of smart LED lights and sensors that can detect the location and poses of occupants in a room.

Responsive sensors to improve lighting efficiency are available to detect occupancy.

Wireless lighting management – The company, LumiFi Technology offers wireless smart lighting control management platform. It works with third party lighting hardware manufacturers to offer an application programming interface (API) for seamless integration.

Switching lights from anywhere around the world – Klever switch
Using the Klever app, you’ll be able to control, schedule and monitor your home’s lighting from your office, school, or even an entirely different stat.

ACTIVITIES OF A FEW PLAYERS

CONCLUSION

Due to complexity involved in designing smart lighting systems, there is a need for rapid turnaround in manufacturing and deployment. Also, as the technology is in its developing phase, there is an increasing pressure on reliability and cost.

Wide band gap devices (SiC, GaN) are most widely considered for light sources such as LEDs.

Smart bulbs must always have power flowing through it to perform its smart functions. Therefore, this poses a challenge in developing countries, where there are frequent electricity outages.

Another challenge is related to lighting latency. Despite several advancements, current technologies do not offer low latency solutions. Smart hubs such as Siri or Alexa provide smart lighting solutions, but improvement areas need to be explored to reduce latency, improve communication, and others.

Sometimes devices accidentally react to vocalized commands based on different context that may result in undesired functionality of smart lighting system.

Factors driving the demand for smart lighting include obsolescence of incandescent lamps, adoption of wireless technology, and further developments in sensor technologies.

As developments in information and communication technologies (ICT) are constantly changing, smart lighting solutions that are dependent on ICT technologies will foresee challenges in implementation.

The five key strategic phases of smart lighting are: LED lighting, Sensors and controls, Connectivity, Analytics and Intelligence. Using all five phases Human centric lighting can be obtained. Human centric lighting is an art of creating lighting that mimics the natural daylight that drives our bodily functions through ‘Tunable White’ and ‘Glow Dim’.

Smart lighting installation requires more support from Information Technology personnel than from facilities personnel. As installation needs trained and highly knowledgeable technical support team.

Disclaimer:

This document has been created for educational and instructional purposes only